New Delhi: Pakistan Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar Tuesday called on India to “take necessary steps to create an enabling environment” for engagement and added that Islamabad does not believe in “perpetual hostility.”
India’s decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status adversely affected bilateral ties, Dar, who is also his country’s foreign minister, said. Islamabad had downgraded its ties with New Delhi after the Indian Parliament suspended Article 370 on 5 August, 2019.
“Pakistan does not believe in perpetual hostility…Pakistan has always been receptive to constructive engagement through dialogue that includes all outstanding issues. Pakistan would never agree to unilateral approaches or attempts to impose India’s will or hegemony,” he said Tuesday at the 51st anniversary of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI).
“We will also take every step to maintain strategic stability in South Asia and would respond effectively and decisively to all ill-considered military adventures by the Hindutva driven dispensation in New Delhi.”
Dar called for a “sober reflection” on the future of India-Pakistan ties, as a part of PM Narendra Modi’s third term in-charge of government.
This is not the first time Dar has seemingly softened Islamabad’s stance towards New Delhi in recent months. In March, while in London, he said that Islamabad is “seriously” considering the restoration of trade ties with New Delhi. Dar added that Pakistani businesspersons wanted trade to resume with India.
Trade between the two countries remains suspended since Pakistan downgraded its relationship with India in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir. The Attari-Wagah land route has been closed since for trade.
According to media reports, Dar, in a written response to the National Assembly, said in May that trade ties between the two countries were suspended due to the imposition of “heavy duties by India” after the Pulwama attack.
India had imposed a duty of 200 percent on goods from Pakistan in February 2019 after the Pulwama attacks, along with removing Islamabad from the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status.
Dar is not the only Pakistani leader who has indicated a diplomatic shift towards India in recent weeks.
In June second week, former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif had congratulated Narendra Modi on “assuming office for the third time” and called for replacing “hate with hope and seize the opportunity to shape the destiny of the two billion people of South Asia.”
My warm felicitations to Modi Ji (@narendramodi) on assuming office for the third time. Your party's success in recent elections reflects the confidence of the people in your leadership. Let us replace hate with hope and seize the oppurtunity to shape the destiny of the two…
— Nawaz Sharif (@NawazSharifMNS) June 10, 2024
Modi responded with a message on X, thanking Sharif for his message, while adding that “advancing the well-being and security of our people shall always remain our priority.”
Dar, meanwhile, continued to put the onus on New Delhi to create the environment for the engagement. In his latest comments Tuesday, he lamented the inactivity of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and blamed New Delhi for it, without directly naming the country.
“We took so much initiative and active participation, we tried our best (in SAARC). This was the only viable platform for regional cooperation and tackling these serious challenges. Unfortunately it remains inactive due to just one member state,” said Dar.
(Edited by Tony Rai)